An Open Letter to Wild Boar Concerning the Dais of Christ

 An open letter to brother Wild Boar -

Hey Wild, just wanted to reach out to you publicly here and clarify your concern about "exclusive rewards." My goal is, hopefully, to heighten your sense of smell, that you come to recognize the fragrant odor of Christ in His word, as opposed to the slanderous claims of man which pervert it into an odor of rotten cheese. First, and foremost, neither myself, nor Martin, nor Knoch, or Hough, or any other concordant teacher speaking of reward at the dais is claiming that we receive "exclusive" rewards at the dais. Unfortunately, there are some within Christ who lack the intellectual integrity to note what is directly being said, here (not to proclaim YOU personally as one of them, as I've not spoken with you much on the matter, nor am I claiming that any who have misunderstood the lot of us on this topic are inherently lacking integrity -- only those who are proclaiming that we say this, even upon being corrected. From my standpoint, it is both poor sportsmanship and lacking love to throw this upon a brother -- Rom. 14:13, 19.) What HAS been proclaimed is a UNIQUE glorification at the dais of Christ. This is, indeed, very different from "exclusivity," for "exclusivity" has been thrown around in an attempt to make us out to be "working for our own little slice of righteousness of which no other partakes." Now, if you take a moment and observe Martin's toil for the last 30 years, this claim HARDLY holds up with any legitimacy; the very nature of both his doctrine and his perception of it fundamentally denies it (Rom. 3:21-32.) In contrast to "exclusivity," "unique" has been the term I have found most adequate, for it does not weigh "exclusive" reward, but highlights the INDIVIDUALITY of the one whom God calls, justifies, and glorifies (Rom. 8:30.) On that note, EVERY individual in Christ is unique -- all members of the same body, and yet not all members have the same function (Rom. 12:4-5, Eph. 4:10-13.) No two individuals reach a realization of the truth in quite the same way. The timing of each one's justification is unique. It follows, then, that the presentation of each one's glory at the dais will, indeed, be unique. This is aptly demonstrated in Paul's statement (which we should be taking literally, for there is no reason to take it figuratively,) "Each one will receive his own wages according to his own toil." This is presented in 1 Corinthians 3:8, followed by a breakdown of God's methodology on the matter (see the following video, which has not yet been refuted by the naysayers, as they have not yet been able to apprehend the position): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTRQmPVXFvI&list=PLQK0qv7SeRtPFdhfgNV9zSbEe7vsFIFYO&index=4 The other statement which has been under fire has been "reward." The fear is that one who believes they are being rewarded must believe they earned whatever the reward is by their own personal merit. In truth, however, the aforementioned teachers do indeed apprehend that "It is God Who is operating in you TO will as well as TO work for the sake of His delight." Note, in the previous sentence, that God is OPERATING IN you, so that YOU will, AND work, for His sake. Thus, any willing or working you effect is HIS. This is readily understood by most (if not all) in Christ. The teaching that one is uniquely rewarded at the dais, then (which has scriptural merit, per the aforementioned verses, as well as the clear statement in 2 Cor. 5:9-10, which cannot be a blanket statement, as no two individuals in Christ are the exact same, or effect the exact same bad and good practices,) can only be understood as God glorifying whom He wills, for His own accomplishments. Thus far, brother, you cannot logistically or rationally proclaim that there is some "free will" in view here, for the sovereignty of God, and HIS authority to effect His goal, has been firmly established in the hearts and minds of those who proclaim that the dais is a rewards ceremony. These two concepts are not contradictory, for Paul himself proclaimed, NINE verses into Romans, that he "offered divine service" in his spirit, in the evangel of Christ. Did Paul, in offering this divine service, believe in free will? May it not be coming to that! But it must be stressed that Paul undoubtedly understood that the work he did was, in truth, orchestrated by God (as proclaimed later in the same letter.) In this, it is okay to recognize that servitude toward the all-knowing God, when viewed in light of His authority on every single matter, no matter how small, is actually quite commendable (and this is typed in the LESSER evangel, Matt. 5:12, Luke 6:23, 35. How much greater must this be in accord with Paul's evangel?) * * * One more question naturally remains, but before I discuss this with you, there is a slight issue. The argument that Christians have made for the last 2,000 years, that "If God is in absolute authority over all, then it is wrong for Him to judge unbelievers for their misconduct." This has been aptly replied to by the body of Christ, from God, in Rom. 9:19-22, that God uses the vessels of dishonor to make His powerful doings known, and to display His indignation. These are two necessary aspects of His character, justifying the need for the vessels of dishonor at present, and thus exonerating God's use and subsequent correction of them. As I mentioned to you once before, if God can judge unbelievers for poor acts that they could not control in His sovereignty, is it not true that He can also reward believers for good acts that they could not control in His sovereignty? Sure enough, here's the rest of the Romans 9 passage... "He should also be making known the RICHES of His GLORY on the vessels of mercy, which He makes ready before into glory -- US, whom He CALLS also, not only out of the Jews, but out of the nations also." In this, I believe you can begin to see the point. To be glorified is not some blanket, "All in one, one for all" ideal... this would be an unproven assumption brought about by man, and especially out of sync with the contrastive nature of God's story. He has a vast love with which He loves us... why would Love, in GLORIFYING you, refuse to acknowledge the art that is YOU? The art that He Himself weaves? * * * The remaining qualm: WHAT are we receiving? For starters, we cannot possibly be "receiving" justification, for we already have this, through faith (Rom. 3:24, 5:9, being NOW justified in His blood...) And this is necessary, for it is the only means by which you may gain peace toward God and apprehend the eventual salvation of all (Rom. 5:1, 18-19.) If we were to consider ourselves unjustified at present, then a simple case could be made that all could be presented at the dais of Christ -- or no one. It cannot be your "mortal body," for you will be changed in an instant AT your snatching away -- NOT at your presentation at the dais (1 Cor. 15:51-53.) We also cannot be obtaining "life eonian" at the dais, for your spirit is already life because of righteousness (Rom. 8:10,) and your mortal body will be vivified BEFORE you reach the dais (Rom. 8:11, 1 Cor. 15:51-53, 1 Thess. 4:13-18,) which is indeed the completion of your life eonian. Moreover, life eonian is a component of your SALVATION, so to proclaim that one would "receive" life eonian at a platform which undeniably examines one's deeds (2 Cor. 5:9-10, Eph. 6:5-8, Col. 3:21-25,) is to make salvation contingent on some aspect of your work. There is ONE passage, toward the end of Paul's evangel, which explicitly proclaims the "PAY" which we receive. This "pay" is found in 2 Timothy 4:8 -- "There is reserved for me the wreath of righteousness, which the Lord, the just Judge, will be paying to me in that day; yet not to me ONLY, but also to all who love His advent." Do you love His advent? Yes, I thought so. Indeed -- this is the reward for those at the dais of Christ. Each of us receive a -- UNIQUE -- wreath of righteousness. Obviously, you only have one (literal) head. So do I. You will not have the wreath I have. I will not have the wreath Knoch has. Knoch won't have the wreath Drew Costen has. And so on. Few, I imagine, will truly "disqualify" themselves from such a reward, though it is possible (2 Tim. 3:8, Col. 3:25.) This, of course, does not erase the fact that ALL IS YOURS -- for, if for whatever reason, you did not have a wreath, it does not mean you "lost" a part of the "all," but that the God Who foreordains all did not foreordain your wreath to exist. * * * Now, with all of this in mind, hopefully your understanding of your brothers' attitude and perspective are further enlightened, and, unlike those who are actively withstanding the truth of their brothers' thoughts, as well as the direct claims of our apostle, you may be able to rest securely in the fact that we are, indeed, not irrationally proclaiming effort apart from God. I pray that the eyes of your heart are enlightened. I truly do hope that you come to a fuller realization of God's word, and that all cease speaking slanderously concerning others on this matter. These are ridiculously troubled times, and lying about others sows is, as our apostle puts it, a conceit which causes factions, strife, envies, and worse (1 Tim. 6:3-5.) I wish for all of my brothers to be freed from this attitude. Grace and peace. - Gerudo